Press Round-up – February 15

By Reuters Staff

February 15, 2012

Greece’s rescue package in doubt
Euro zone officials have called off an emergency meeting of finance ministers to approve a vital 130 billion euro bailout for Athens amid a growing fight among the country’s European creditors about the merits of allowing Greece to go bankrupt. (FT)Thai floods threaten to sink Lloyd’s profits
Lloyd’s said that it had provisionally calculated a claims bill of $2.2 billion for its member insurers after the Thai floods, meaning the world’s oldest insurance market is liable for up to 15 percent of a natural disaster set to cost the insurance industry up to $20 billion. (Times)Murdoch puts top lawyer on Sun case
Rupert Murdoch has put his top lawyer on to News Corp’s internal affairs committee as the media group comes under fire from its reporters for passing information to the police that led to the arrests of nine journalists at The Sun. (FT)Inflation drop to ease pain for UK households
Households are expected to receive a welcome boost on Wednesday when the Bank of England signals that inflation will fall below 2 percent in the coming months, offering consumers some respite after two years of shrinking incomes. (Telegraph)HSBC looks to increase mainland Chinese presence
HSBC <HSBA.L> is aiming to increase its presence in mainland China through a big expansion of its branch network or by raising its stake in Bank of Communications. (FT)

Bumi investors issue conditions to Rothschild
The Indonesian investors in coal miner Bumi have said UK financier Nat Rothschild can stay on the company’s board, but only if he steps down as co-chairman and stops being a “disruptive influence” over his calls for a shake-up at PT Bumi Resources, a Bumi affiliate. (FT)

Facebook in line for huge tax bill
Facebook faces a requirement to raise as much as $5 billion through an extra share sale late this year to cover a tax bill for its employees, or as much again as the minimum amount it has already said it plans to raise in its initial public offering in May. (FT)

UK’s fraud arm faces inspection
Dominic Grieve, the Attorney-General, has ordered the first inquiry into the UK’s anti-fraud authority to help improve its operations only weeks after it was forced into a climbdown. (FT)